As Gray As The Thundery Clouds
by SayaYamamoto
Summary: Ed x OC. Slight diversion from the original story.
1. A new, different mission

Every time he tried to remember her, he only saw her face the way he had seen her last time.

A face full of pain and sadness. He tried remembering her the way she had been before, but he couldn't. He couldn't remember the silent but somehow cheerful girl she had been.

The last time they had met was in Reole. He did not tell Al about it. The look in her grey eyes had changed. Something really bad happened to her. But back then he was afraid to ask. He knew his brother Al would scold him for not telling him that he met Elena. And if he had told him that, he would have had to tell him about their conversation and the look in her eyes. But he couldn't. It was something he could not talk about, it hurt him when only thinking about her.

"Nii-san."

"What is it Al?

"You've been distracted for a while now. What are thinking about?"

"Nothing important." Ed shook his head as he looked out of the window of the train. They had been called back to Central by Colonel Mustang because of something.

Al sighed. "I was thinking about Elena and where she might be now. And what she might be doing."

Ed flinched. 'Brother telepathy.' he thought.

"What do you think nii-san?"

Ed hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe she's traveling, just as we are."

"Yeah, maybe."

"We will be in Central soon. I don't want to know why Mustang called us back."

"Maybe the Colonel has found out something about our research."

"As if."

Ed was too tired to get angry at the colonel, so he went in without ranting about why Mustang called them back to Central.

"Hi Edward. Alphonse." Lieutenant Hawkeye greeted them.

Ed just raised his hand as he walked towards the colonel's desk.

"Hello Lieutenant." Alphonse greeted back and nodded towards the other subordinates in the room.

The colonel raised his head from his paperwork.

"Hello _Fullmetal_."

Ed grunted and sat down at the chair before the desk.

"Hello Colonel Mustang." greeted Alphonse as he stopped behind Ed.

"Hi Alphonse." He smiled politely. "You may wonder why I called you to Central-"

"Just say it. I want to get into bed." Ed stated bluntly, interrupting Mustang.

The colonel raised his eyebrow. "Very well then. I have a mission for you. But before you get the details you can rest tonight. Come here tomorrow morning."

Ed stood and went out without a word, only nodding towards Mustang's subordinates as he left the room. Al hurried after him.

It was late afternoon when they arrived at the hotel and went to their room. Ed did not say anything. Al began to worry.

"Nii-san, is everything alright?"  
"I'm just tired Al. I'm going to sleep now."

"But dinner will be ready in an hour! You should eat something."

"Later Al. Later."

Al looked at his nii-san. He wondered what was distracting Ed so much. Ed would never had gone to sleep without eating dinner, except after a fight when he was too tired to eat and that rarely happened. And the face he made as Al mentioned Elena. 'His face had been full of hurt.' Al thought. He wondered what his brother was thinking about, it distracted him even that much that he did not fight with the colonel.

Al decided to phone the colonel and ask him for his opinion as he left the room and went down to the main hall of the hotel.

"Alphonse Elric?" A man came towards him.

"Yes, that's me."

"There's a phone call for you, from a certain colonel."

"Really? Thanks."

He went to the phone and answered it. "Alphonse Elric."

"Hi Alphonse." came Colonel Mustang's voice. "I wanted to talk about Ed."

"Colonel Mustang!"

"Is he asleep yet?"

"Yes, and he did not eat anything. I just wanted to phone you."

"He is acting weird. He did not eat? That's even weirder for him."

"I know. He's been like that since yesterday. We were sitting in the train already. And then his behavior suddenly changed."

"Do you know where it had been? Did you pass a city you were before?"

"It was shortly after we passed Reole."

"He maybe thinks back to when you first where there."

"No, he would act different. He wouldn't like us to notice."

"But what could it be then?"

"Maybe...No.. the last time we saw each other..."

"What is it Alphonse?"

"He reacted weird when I mentioned an old friend. But the last time we saw her was ages ago."

"You think it could be her?... Wait, HER?"

"Yes, her name is Elena, we are old friends. She knew our sensei, that's how we met her."

"But you said the last time you met..."

"Years ago, before we lost our bodies."

"Then it can't be her. He would not remember her so suddenly without a trigger."

"Yes, I think so too. But I still worry."

"And we still don't know his reason for acting weird."

"I look what I can do."

"I'll see you tomorrow morning then."

Al sighed as he went back to the room. Later on Ed woke up and ate something, but not much. After that he lied down again.

"Nii-san!"  
"I'm tired, Al. Could you wake me in the morning? Mustang wanted me to show up in the morning." With those words he turned his back towards his brother and went to sleep.

Ed's behavior had gotten a bit back to normal in the morning. He ate as usually and grumbled about the colonel calling him out so early. But if you had looked at him when no one else did, you could have seen his expression change and his eyes closing because of mental pain. But he hid it from the others. Al nearly had gotten to now everything, so he need to do as if it disappeared.

"For your size you eat quite much." The waitress smiled with no evil intentions. "Well, but you still have to grow a bit, right?"

Ed flinched. "WHO DID YOU CALL SMALL? MY SIZE IS PERFECTLY FINE!"

Al looked at his nii-san, relieved. When they had been traveling by train, someone had called him _a small kid_ but Ed hadn't noticed that time. Now he was getting angry again. A good sign. But something was still wrong, Al felt it.

Ed finished his breakfast and stood immediately. "We need to go now."

Ed pushed open the door and walked in. "Hi." he said towards Mustang's subordinates. "Oi, you shitty colonel! Never call me out of bed so early again!"

The colonel raised his head from his paperwork. "I'm your supervisor. I can call you out anytime I want. And don't be so impolite to your supervisor."

Al looked at the colonel, smiling. "Good morning Colonel Mustang."

"Good morning Alphonse. At least one of the two brothers can be polite." But Mustang looked relieved at the sight of Ed being normal again.

Ed sat down. "So, you have a mission for us you said."

"Yes." He opened a drawer of his desk and took out a folder. "Here."

"_The Element Alchemist_. Who is that?" Ed looked at the file in his hands. There was no picture or description, just a name and a date from last week.

"A young gifted alchemist, who had taken the exam last week and passed without failure. No mistakes in the theoretical part or the practical exam."

"And? What do we have to do with this _Element Alchemist_? Weird name by the way. What meaning does this _Element_ have?"

"I watched the practical exam. Amazing abilities. Can perform any kind of alchemy."  
"But that would mean to draw a new circle every time." Al intervened.

"No. No circles." Mustang said. "Just like you _Fullmetal_."

"No circles? No formula? But that means..." Ed paused. "We need to meet this _Element Alchemist_!"

Mustang nodded. "I thought so. You will meet, but it's under the excuse that you are going to explain her the rules and everything in the military."

"Alright... wait! Her?"

"A female alchemist?" Al asked with wide eyes. "I don't know many female alchemists. The most are males. How old is she?"

Mustang shrugged. "I would guess about one or two years older than you, _Fullmetal_. I don't know. We don't know very much about her. We know her name: Lucy Swan_."_

Ed and Al nodded.  
"When will we meet?" Ed asked at Mustang.

"She will be here in an hour. By the way, Fuehrer King Bradley seems to like her and became her direct supervisor, like I am yours. You have to be careful around her. And I heard rumors that he was the one bringing her to the exams."

"We will be careful, right nii-san?"

"Yes, we will."

A/N: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or the mentioned characters. They belong to Hiromu Arakawa.


	2. Lucy Swan, the Element Alchemist

Ed and Al were thinking about the young female state Alchemist.

"Colonel Mustang said she seemed to be able to do every kind of Alchemy." Al said.

"Yes, it must mean that she's a genius. And she did not use a transmutation circle. That could mean...-"

"Lucy Swan, the _Element Alchemist_. It maybe means she is able to use every element that exists. The whole periodic system of elements."

"Yeah maybe."

"We should go nii-san. It's almost time."

"Alright."

They went through the hallway to the colonel's office. As they opened the door and walked in. they noticed someone already sitting in front of the colonel's desk. Nodding and raising his hand towards Mustang's subordinates Ed walked closer.

"There they are." Mustang said smiling politely.

The young female state alchemist raised herself from her seat to greet the Elric brothers. When she turned both Al and Ed gasped. She was the spitting image of Elena, only her hair wasn't short and reddish brown, but long and black. But her eyes were just as gray as Elena's. As gray as the thundery clouds.

"I'm honored to meet the famous Elric brothers and especially the _Fullmetal Alchemist_." she said nodding towards Ed.

Ed slightly shook his head to free himself from the confusion. "Thank you. We've heard really interesting things about you too. And we are also honored to meet you."

Mustang was taken in by surprise. At first by the reaction of the two boys as they saw her and then by _Fullmetal's _polite attitude. He did not know that Ed could be so polite towards someone. For Mustang he had always been the rebellious boy.

"I am the _Fullmetal Alchemist_ Edward Elric and this is my little brother Alphonse Elric."

Al was still unable to say anything so he just bowed slightly towards her.

She nodded. "I am the _Element Alchemist_, Lucy Swan. I think it is a bit stuffy in here. We could go into the garden to talk a bit."

"A wonderful idea. The air in here is full of working spirit, we should not disturb them." Ed said smiling politely.

And so they left the room and Mustang and his subordinates.

"I did not know that _Fullmetal_ could be polite." Mustang murmured to himself as Lieutenant Hawkeye gave him some more paperwork.

VVVVV

The three young alchemists sat down at a bench beneath a tree.

"So I've heard that you had taken the exams at twelve? That's something amazing to do, _Fullmetal_-san."

"Oh, no it wasn't that big of a deal. And if you want to, you can call me Edward or Ed. _Fullmetal_ is too formal. We're nearly even the same age, aren't we?"

"You turned sixteen this year, right Edward? I will turn eighteen at the end of the year."

"Would you tell us the reason you became a state alchemist? For nii-san, it wasn't a normal reason, so we would like to know why someone at your age joins the military and even becomes a state alchemist." Al said.

"Well, who defines normal?" She shrugged but her neutral expression stayed. "I became a state alchemist because you get privileges. You can look into things usually forbidden and get well paid. I was living on the roadside before, traveling from here to there, no place to stay or return to. It feels good to have something safe and stable again."

While she talked Ed and Al had looked at her, wondering how she and Elena could look so similar. Al thought that I could not be her, even though she looked exactly like Elena. Elena's eyes had been full of life, but the gray eyes he was looking at now were closed. Like closed windows so that no one could look at her soul. Al remembered the cheerful but quiet Elena. Ed looked at her and was afraid that it might be her. He after all remembered another Elena than his little brother. He knew that if something bad had happened to Elena, her eyes might have the same look. He saw hurt but also strength and something else he could not define.

"Do I remind you of someone you know?" she asked.

"Well... that is..." Al said looking at his brother for help.

"Yes, you do. In fact, you look exactly like her, only your hair is different. She is an old friend."

She nodded. "I've traveled quite far but I've never met someone looking like me. Fate can be a funny thing."

Al was wondering if she only disguised herself and was probably Elena. She had done similar things in the past, and she was great at disguising herself. And the sentence she said right now could have come out of Elena's mouth.

"So, Colonel Mustang told me that you are going to help me orientate myself in the military. He guessed that we should meet each other, from young gifted state alchemist to another." She let it shine through that Mustang had said those things. Even though her expression did not change, Ed noticed it.

"You don't like Mustang, do you?" Ed asked.

"Not really. He was too polite and too aware of me. I don't like people that use me for their goals." Lucy shrugged. "But I don't really care about him anyway."

Al reminded his brother with a glance that they had to be cautious around her and that they needed to get to know more. Ed began explaining how things worked in the military, slowly working towards the end.

"... and something else: As a state alchemist without further promotion you are equaled with the rank of a Major. That would be mostly everything."

Lucy nodded and wanted to say something as a shadow came down from the sky. Ed and Al jumped back a bit as a completely black falcon landed on her wrist. She caressed him and took a small paper from his wrist. He flew to a low branch of the tree as she opened the sealed letter.

"Is that a falcon?" Al asked looking at the big black bird.

"Yes, he is helps me communicate with some people farther away." She said as she overflew the small letter.

Then she went over to the falcon. "You can rest for today."

The falcon screeched and took off into to the sky again.

"I'm sorry, but I have to do something right now." she said and her cold aura she had at the beginning came back, after it had disappeared while they had talked. "How long will you stay in Central?"

Al shrugged and Ed answered: "Not long. We want to go back to our research anytime soon."

"I understand. I wish you luck and success for it. If you would excuse me now, I hope we see each other again soon."

When she was out of hearing range, Al sighed. "She is difficult. We could not get something out of her. But her appearance... Nii-san, what do you think?"

"She is the perfect twin of Elena, only the hair is different. She could be Elena. But her behavior... She seems cold." They walked back towards Mustang's office.

"Yes, but not only cold. Her eyes... like closed windows. I don't know if she could be Elena. Remember what she said nii-san? _Fate can be a funny thing_. But there was no context. It could have come out of Elena's mouth. She was quite cryptic sometimes."

"Yeah, that's right." Ed said as he opened the door and greeted Mustang and his subordinates by raising his hand. "It could be her, but also it could _not_ be her. I don't know what to think of her. And we did not get to know anything about _it_. We need to ask her next time."

Al nodded as Ed sat down in front of the colonel.

"I hope you boys were careful. What did you find out?"

"Not much anyway. Before she became a state alchemist she traveled alone. No family or home or so. She turns eighteen at the end of the year. And.. oh yes, she has a falcon for communicating with someone. That was it."

"Nothing more? Hm.. and we won't get anything out of her files. And how do you think she is? Her character?"  
"Cold." stated Al.

"And somehow really withdrawn..." Ed said nodding.

Mustang also nodded. "And what was about that time when you saw her? You both looked shocked."

The brothers looked at each other.

"She looks like someone we know." Ed said.

"An old friend of us. We did not meet Elena for quite some time." Al added.

Mustang's eyes widened. "How alike?"

"Except for the hair, they look exactly alike. Especially these gray eyes. You don't see gray eyes like those very often." Al said explaining.

"As gray as the thundery clouds before they let loose." Ed said, more to himself than to the others.

Mustang nodded without saying anything. He had noticed her incredible eye color and had already thought about it.

The room was quiet. Everyone saw how deep into thoughts Ed was. It reminded Al of the last days, when Ed seemed distracted.

They did not notice the black falcon sitting in front of the window as it stared into the room, with eyes that seemed too intelligent for a normal animal.

A/N: This chapter was tough. I did not want her to be too cold, but also she should not be too nice. I hope it came through.

And SURPRISE: this amazing young gifted female state alchemist looks exactly like Elena (leaving out her hair). Just coincidence? Or could she be Elena, the old friend of the Elric brothers, the one Ed could not forget?

Please review!


	3. Memories

Ed thought back to the time when he and Al first met Elena, sighing heavily:

Ed and Al had been sitting on the floor, holding their heads and other aching places on their bodies after their training with their teacher. They had books in their laps to learn more about alchemy as they heard the sound of hooves on the stony floor outside and the whining of a horse. The brothers stood up and glanced out of the window as they saw their teacher walking up to the horses in front of the house. A young girl climbed down from one of the horses and walked towards their teacher. To hear what was said, the boys opened the door a bit.

"Izumi-san." the girl said as she bowed.

"Elena, it's nice to see you again. How were your travels?" Izumi said smiling brightly at the girl.

"Exhausting, but very interesting." Elena smiled.

Ed looked closer at the young girl. She had reddish brown hair, cut short to a length where it would just touch her shoulders. She was thin but seemed endurable.

"You seem tired, come in."

The boys backed down from the door back to the spot where they had been sitting before. The door opened and Izumi came in together with her guest Elena.

"I thought you wouldn't take students." Elena said looking at the boys, her polite attitude was gone.

"I somehow couldn't let them be. And I had them take a test at least." Izumi shrugged, ignoring they boys stares just as Elena did before. "Tea?"

"Yes, thank you very much." They walked into the kitchen.

"Nii-san, this girl... -"

"I know Al. She just ignored us. As if we would be things and not persons." Ed growled.

"Edward! Alphonse!" Izumi called for them.

They stood and walked into the kitchen to see their sensei drink tea together with that strange girl.

"I picked them up in a small city called Resembool in the east." Looking at the boys she nodded.

"Nice to meet you both. You must have left an impression so Izumi-san would let you take the test and take you in. I'm Elena."

Ed and Al noticed her gray eyes, surprised that eyes could have such a color.

Izumi snickered. "I don't know if they learn fast enough. When... I've got a great idea."

"What is it, sensei?" Al asked.

"To see whether you learn fast or not, you will fight Elena."

"Her?" Ed said. "I won't fight against her."  
"You're afraid?" Elena asked.

But before Ed could say something, Izumi intervened. "She means afraid of losing. And it doesn't matter if you are. It's part of your training to fight her." Turning to Elena she smiled again. "A fight without alchemy would be good."

Elena slightly bowed her head and put her empty cup on the table. They walked outside.

"Dear, do we have guests?" Sig asked coming around the corner. Then he saw Elena. "Elena? You sure have grown from the last time I saw you." He grinned widely as he came towards her. "How are you, sugar?" he asked her with a nickname.

Elena smiled looking up the big man in front of her. "I'm alright. How are you doing, Sig-san?"

"You don't have to call me Sig-san!" he said loudly. "I told you before, didn't I?"

Elena chuckled. "I'm sorry, big bear."

Ed and Al looked really irritated at the girl calling Sig that. Sig instead came to hug her tightly.

Izumi sighed. "You don't have to call him that, Elena. Even though he likes it..." She paused. "Let's get to the fight."

Sig let loose of Elena as he followed them into the garden. "Fight?" he asked. "You mean Elena against the boys?" Sig laughed and watched as the boys looked towards their teacher.

"Who should begin?" Al asked.

"You will both fight against her at the same time." Izumi simply stated. "Go on."

The irritation in the boy's eyes was clearly visible as they walked towards the young girl which had stretched her muscles.

"Begin!"

The brothers stormed towards Elena, still a bit irritated but determined to win this. _After all she's just a girl, what could a girl pos-_

Ed's thoughts were interrupted as Elena dodged both his and Al's attack and gave them a good punch. The brothers flew back.

Sig laughed. "Never judge a book by its cover, boys!"

The fight went on, Ed and Al never could lay a hand on Elena, no matter what they tried. Izumi was sometimes impressed and surprised by their creativity for creating a strategy and putting it into action without talking to each other. Not that it would help them though.

"Okay, that's enough." she said as Ed and Al lied on the floor trying to catch their breath.

Elena was standing there, breathing normally as if she had done nothing. She smiled, her eyes sparkling with life.

Ed pushed himself onto his feet, helping his younger brother stand. "You..." he said looking at Elena. "You are strong."

Sig broke into a loud laugh and couldn't stop. Even Izumi smiled broadly at Ed's statement. Al and Ed stood there looking at their smiling teacher and her still laughing husband.

"You boys are strong. But you need to train more." Elena said, her gray eyes directed towards Ed and Al.

Al looked into her eyes, which were full of joy and life, and nodded smiling broadly.

VV

Elena stayed at Izumi's place for a while, getting to know Ed and Al better. They became friends, even though Ed was sometimes angry at her being more quiet. He thought she was making fun of him.

Then someday a letter came and her face turned serious. Ed and Al did not get to know what that letter was about. She simply said she had to return somewhere. And she left.

"Where does she even come from?" Ed asked a short while after Elena had left.

"I do not exactly know, but somewhere around Central I think. But she travels around more often than staying at her home. I don't know her parents but they must be strong from what she told me. Her father and mother taught her fighting and everything they know about alchemy, they must be great alchemists from what she is capable of." Izumi sighed. "She came here before, we met her and became something like friends."

Sig smiled. "I only hope that everything is alright." he sighed.

Now that Ed thought about it, it had not been alright. That had been the last time Al had met her, Ed had met her Reole last time. And from how she acted back then in Reole, he knew that the matter turned worse, the matter why she left Dublith back then.

-VVV-

"Are the brothers very irritated?"

"Yes."

"They seemed composed to me."  
"It's in their eyes and how they look at me."  
Fuhrer King Bradley sat down and gestured to Lucy to do the same. They were in his office, his guards had left and now stood outside the door.

"And Colonel Mustang?"

"He was polite and nice, but too much. It seems like he told the brothers about the practical exam. They wanted to ask me about it. But we were interrupted."

Bradley looked at her, she was nice company to keep. Quiet and cold. And she did not like humans very much, she didn't even seem to be one actually. But he had confirmed her past, he knew of her relationship to the brothers and their teacher.

"Hm." he said. He had been watching her meet with the Elric brothers. To him, she seemed like a perfect actress. Or maybe she had become so cold even on the inside. That would be even better for him and his uses.

"You're gonna tell them, Elena?" he asked using her old name on purpose.

"Probably not." she did not react to the name she put down years ago, even before she met Ed in Reole. But only after that meet she changed her hairstyle and behavior, becoming the cold and quiet woman she was now.

Fuhrer King Bradley sighed as he looked at her. In her presence he never felt the burning anger that he consisted of. He only knew she was different than all the others.

Suddenly she stood and bowed before him. Then he heard a knock on the door.  
With his 'come on in' the door opened and Mustang stood before them and saluted. He was one of his soldiers he least expected, together with the stubborn Briggs general from the Armstrong family and Grumman from the east.

"Thank you, your grace. You've helped me really much." she politely said, hiding their original conversation.

The usual nice smile made its way on his face as he looked at his favorite state alchemist. "Oh no. You've helped _me_ by becoming a state alchemist." he gestured to Mustang to come closer and her to sit down again as the door was shut.

"Sir. Miss _Element_." Mustang greeted properly as he found a nickname for the young female alchemist.

"What brings me the honor of your visit, Colonel Mustang?" the Fuhrer smiled at his subordinate.

"I only was going to inform your grace that the _Fullmetal_ Alchemist will leave Central soon to continue his research." Mustang carefully placed his words, the rumors of Miss _Element_ having contact with the Fuhrer being confirmed.

"Oh, I wish he would stay a bit longer. What do you think, Miss _Element_?" he said using the nickname Mustang gave her.

"The brothers and especially the _Fullmetal_ Alchemist Edward Elric are quite intelligent and strong. I was impressed and would be glad to meet them again sometime." she elegantly put her words, praising the brothers in an unusual way.

The Fuhrer was amazed at how her words said nothing, but were put in a way everyone would think she was praising them. Mustang also noticed the emptiness of her words, being really impressed, he had noticed her way with words in their conversation before.

"That is nice to hear, Miss _Element_. I would like to drink another coffee with you again today. Come in afternoon. I will keep free some time for our little chat."

"Thank you, your grace." Lucy stood, saluted and left the room, nodding at Mustang while walking past him.

The door was closed behind her. "Is there something else, Colonel Mustang? You surely wouldn't have come here just to tell me about _Fullmetal_'s departure."

"Yes, sir. I only wanted to ask about information about the _Element_ Alchemist. I surely got the folder that should inherit her information. But there was nearly nothing so I came to ask."

"Well, Colonel Mustang. There is nearly nothing about her. No great past, no home. Only a few records where she went on her journeys and in which orphanage she grew up. Nothing much. But I will send you the rest of the information." Fuhrer Bradley nodded slightly, signalizing that this matter was ended.

"Thank you, sir. I will excuse myself now, there is much of work to do."

Fuhrer Bradley nodded again and smiled his nice and fake smile. "Do so."

Mustang saluted and left the room. He was thinking about 'Miss _Element_' and her connection to the Fuhrer. She was mysterious and the fact that she looked like the Elric brother's old friend made Mustang curious. There was the chance that she would be that Elena. Especially those eyes are quite unique, just like her whole person.

"Colonel Mustang!" Hawkeye scolded him as he went into his office. "Where have you been? I have brought you more work and the part you should already have finished lies there untouched! Get to work, please!"

Mustang sighed, the mysterious female alchemist being pushed back in his mind, and began working through the piles of paper on his desk.

-vv-

A/N: whew... that was a fight... and I still don't like it very much... but I uploaded it.

Anyway: Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or the mentioned characters.


	4. Between Colonels

-vv-

Miss _Element_ – as Mustang had called her – walked through the halls, getting greeted by some higher standing soldiers. Her feet carried her to a small inner garden where she sat down and sighed quietly. Meeting the Elric brothers, who were a sign of her happiest times, had been a bit too much. A shadow was cast over her and the falcon landed on her left shoulder. Absentmindedly she caressed it. Because this falcon had been by her side since that fateful day years ago it was the only presence being able to calm her. Soothing in the smell of the trees and flowers and the silence she could relax for a bit.

"You came at the right time, Nala." she told the female falcon.

"I nearly had forgotten my cover if it weren't for you. I really missed talking to them like that. But they can't know. They'll be in grave danger if they would."

As Nala purred in her ear, she heard steps coming towards her. She knew who it was, except for her nearly no one knew of this garden.

"So, so. Miss _Element_. A nice name that Colonel thought of." A voice cam from the shadows.

"..."

"Choosing silence over talking, as always." Envy sighed as he walked out of the shadows. "Aren't you glad to get out into the light again? No more hidden missions, secret assassinations and top secret research travels?"

"..."

"No use talking to you like that, huh?"

Nala softly crooned before she took off into the deep blue sky. Miss _Element_ turned towards Envy.

"I haven't come here without an order, don't worry."

"..."

"Tch. You are ordered to keep an eye on the runt and his empty-armor-brother."

She nodded before slightly bowing and then going away without looking back.

"I would've killed her long ago if I wasn't forbidden to." Envy hissed through his teeth before he disappeared into the shadows.

-v-

_~knock-knock~_

"Come in." Mustang called and looked up from his paperwork as the door to his office opened to show Miss _Element_.

"Colonel Mustang." she greeted with a nod.

"Miss _Element_." he cautiously greeted. "Congratulations to your promotion, _Colonel Swan_." he corrected himself, still wondering why she had been promoted to such a rank a bit more than a week after her nomination to a state alchemist.

She nodded. "Thank you, Colonel Mustang."

"Why the great honor of your visit?"

"I have questions pertaining the _Fullmetal_ Alchemist. You are his direct superior, so you should be able to answer those."

"I would be happy to help you with this matter. Please, sit down."

Mustang's subordinates had quietly continued their work, being very respectful to the person who had been promoted to a rank their superior had to work years for. In matter of reasoning for this promotion she also had worked some years for it; the fuhrer reasoned with a report on her secret work for the state and the military for years and her capabilities. The fuhrer's trust in her was proof of her loyalty, the reports and the state alchemist exam proof for her splendid knowledge and military capabilities.

"I would ask for strict confidence pertaining this matter." she added without sitting down.

Mustang's eyebrows raised before he slowly nodded. "You heard Colonel Swan. If you please would?"

"Yes, sir." everyone answered standing up. "Ma'am." They saluted before they left the room and Hawkeye softly closed the door.

"I have to admit to curiosity now. Please take a seat."

She nodded taking a seat in front of his desk.

Mustang folded his hands carefully.

"The problem with this rooms here is that listening ears are always around." she calmly stated.

"I absolutely think so, too. It is very dangerous to talk about secret matters around here."

"I'm glad you understand, Mustang. If I may call you so?"

"Yes, of course, Colonel Swan."  
"Please: just call me Lucy when we're alone."

"Alright, Lucy. Why did you come here?"

She slightly smiled as she had noticed how he had reacted to her offer to call her by her first name, slightly shocked and irritated. And he became more forward and informal.

"As I said before, it's about Edward and Alphonse."

"Yes." he carefully nodded thinking about the secret of those two.

"I know their secret. But do not worry, I won't report it to my superiors."

Mustangs eyes widened. "I'm impressed. And grateful. It would danger my position if it would come to daylight."

"Yes, I am aware of that. Are those two still in Central?"

"They will depart tomorrow. They stayed to attend your promotion ceremony, or so they said."

"I would like to travel together with them. I, too, have a bigger research to do and it is difficult enough to travel alone as a young woman. And I admit that I am interested in _their_ research."

Mustang smiled and nodded. "Should I call to tell them?"

"You could tell them that they're not allowed go on traveling alone and they have to expect company at their depart tomorrow." her eyes barely hid her mischievous intent.

"A good idea."

"I have to go now, pack my things." she raised herself from the seat and mentally smiled as he automatically did the same.

"I have to thank you again, Lucy."

"No need to."

She saluted and he returned it. As she turned he called after her.

"One question is left though."

"Then ask, Mustang." she calmly said without turning.

"Lucy Swan isn't your real name, right? It is just a cover, a false identity."

"You are right."

He nodded, satisfied for now.

"Colonel Mustang."

"Colonel Swan."

She left the room, nodding towards Lt. Hawkeye who passed her with a stack of paperwork for Mustang, slightly smiling.

-vVv-

I'm sorry for the long wait, but I did not know how to go on for a while and life had been pretty stressed.


	5. Departure

-vv-

"What the hell did the shitty colonel mean with that?!" Ed exclaimed as they reached the train station.

"I don't know, brother. But he said that he will be there at our departure, explaining everything."

"He better be. And we don't need an escort anyway!"

Ed harrumphed and mumbled some heavy insults under his breath.

Al sighed. "Look, brother! There is Colonel Mustang!" He hoped it'd be better some good reason else his brother would be very angry. And an angry Ed is never good.

"Ah, there are you, _Fullmetal_."

"Oi, Colonel Bastard! What the hell is all this about?"

Mustang's eyebrows raised slowly. "You should keep a tighter rein on your insults and bad habits from now on. Those words shouldn't be uttered within the presence of a fine lady."

"Huh?" Ed _eloquently_ questioned.

"She should arrive within the next few minutes." Mustang added, a mischievous smile now on his lips. Though it was more a smirk than a smile.

"Who the hell-"

"Colonel Mustang!" a female voice carried over the typical ruckus of a train station.

"Colonel Swan." Mustang greeted with a nod as the young woman reached them.

"Ah, Edward and Alphonse. Good morning you two." she smiled graciously at the brothers before turning towards Mustang. "I dearly hope you saved me some, Colonel Mustang?"  
"Of course, I promised so."

She inclined her head in thanks.

"What is this about?" Ed asked carefully.

"Oh, I'm sorry for not explaining." Lucy nodded slightly. "I'll be traveling with you from now on. Colonel Mustang told me about your research and I'm very interested in it and can most probably even help. And you should not travel on your own anymore."

"Our research?!" Ed asked incredulously, not believing that the Colonel had told her something like that.

"Colonel?" Al asked cautiously.

"It is as Colonel Swan said. The higher ups decided that you should not travel alone anymore. So Colonel Swan volunteered. I explained your situation to her and she agreed to help you with it." Mustang answered, smiling at Lucy.

"What the-" but before Ed could spill anymore curses Al put his hand on Ed's mouth.

"I am sorry, Colonel Swan." he said. "But brother is very impulsive and mostly not aware of what he's saying."  
"It's alright, Al." she smiled graciously and suddenly completely reminded both brothers of Elena. "And please, don't call me Colonel. Just Lucy."  
Al removed his hand from Ed's mouth and nodded silently.

"Just Lucy? No rank-pulling?" Ed asked curiously, smirking broadly and smugly, earning a sharp glance and a hiss from Mustang and a small 'brother!' from Al.

Her mimic turned cold. "Careful who you speak to, _Fullmetal_. I don't like disrespect. You should know the principle of rank by power from your sensei." She emanated a power, which shouldn't be in such a small and fragile body. Now, she was _pulling rank_.

Ed took a deep breath and gulped. Then he suddenly changed. "Our sensei?"

But Lucy had already turned towards Mustang, talking quietly to him about something before she nodded and smiled again, back to her nice but neutral self.

"I have to thank you again, Lucy. Your help is very appreciated." he said, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Don't mention it, Mustang."

-v.V.v-

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Any ideas how to go on?

Please review!


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